Charging for Remote Seminars

Following are the responses to my question "How do you charge for a remote seminar, or teleseminar, for a client?"

Charge your regular fee

-- Jeff Tobe

I do quite of few of these with one of my clients and I charge my REGULAR fee for the time frame. They are saving on all other expenses so it is cheaper for them in the long run but it is still YOUR intellectual property you are offering regardless of the medium in which you offer it!

-- Sharon L. Adcock

I'd charge the client what you'd normally charge a client for 30 minutes of presentation, plus 15 Q&A, especially since some customization and a PowerPoint presentation is required. To me the only difference in doing it via telephone is that the client is saving on your travel expenses. The amount of preparation work and your presentation time are still the same.

-- Rebecca Morgan

They are really wanting a remote seminar, or teleseminar. With all the prep you're doing, you could justify charging what you would for an hour speech to a small group. Don't downplay it just because you don't have to get dressed and drive there -- it's the same amount of work. In fact, when I've done these, it's more work, as you have to find ways to keep them involved, otherwise it's tedious to listen to a disembodied voice.

-- Rita Makana Risser

What would you charge for a 45-minute presentation? No difference. (I know we think they are paying us for the travel, but they are really paying for our knowledge.) If the customization is "light" there should be no charge, but if you are creating a new course, then it is charged. If I'm just slapping together stuff from different presentations, or taking stuff out of a presentation, I don't charge for that.

Discount for the convenience

-- Brad Snyder

Charge for the customization of the program (but remember that the electronic delivery of the materials in the form of a PowerPoint presentation is essentially zero cost) and discount for the convenience of the teleconference (doing it from home)... it may be a wash as far as the final fee is concerned. But show it on the agreement and on the invoice.

-- Bill Hampton

I have had a similar situation with some of the practitioners in our company. My suggestion: estimate your current seminar fee and calculate what the hourly rate is. Then reduce this amount because you do not have to travel. Preparation should be included in your hourly rate. I also would simply schedule at 1 hour.

Charge a flat fee

-- Ramon Williamson

I do 2-3 of these a week. I charge: $1,750 per hour complete. I include: a pre-program questionnaire that can be completed online, a PowerPoint presentation that can be viewed online as I go through the program; check out http://www.real.com for tools. Also, the new PowerPoint 2002 has great features for putting your presentation on the Web. I offer these is a series over the course of a year --usually each quarter. If they buy 4, it's 6k for the year. This always leads to more business.

Charge a per-person fee

-- Delores Williams

I am a personal coach. Coaches use teleseminars often. The fee is generally $29 and up per person. Since this is for a business it would be higher end. A selling point is the lack of travel and downtime. Most calls are usually an hour, so you'd be right in the ballpark. Check out places like http://www.teleclassinternational.com or http://www.teleclass.com for some pricing ideas.